West Los Angeles interim housing facility meeting resistance from neighbors

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The parking lot at Pico Boulevard and Midvale Avenue serves as the proposed site for an interim housing facility near the old Westside Pavilion.

It's designed to help 30 homeless people transition into permanent housing. LA City Councilperson Katy Yaroslavsky says this is an underutilized city-owned lot.

"We cannot keep waiting for the problem to solve itself," said Yaroslavsky in a written statement. "We need real solutions that we know work, and we need them quickly. While thousands of units of permanent housing are being constructed across the city, no interim units are in the pipeline in Council District 5."

But right next to the lot sit homes and businesses.

Last week, several neighborhood residents held a rally upon finding out about the facility. Their spokesperson says they were blindsided by the announcement of this new interim housing project.

"Everyone was blindsided to learn that next door to them there was going to be this project which had a name - interim homeless housing - they didn't understand what it was and what it meant. And they were frightened and concerned," said Barbara Broide with the Westwood South of Santa Monica Boulevard Homeowners Association.

According to the plans, there is overtime money for extra LAPD patrols in the neighborhood. The facility to be built at this site is not for those who have mental health or drug addiction issues.

Toby Moresianu, with the group Westside For Everyone, says the facility will do a lot of good.

"So I think this would very directly bring people in," said Moresianu. "You know, it's not a huge facility. It's about 30 units, but over the years it could serve a lot of people and save a lot of lives."

Groundbreaking on the project is scheduled to take place toward the end of this year. Its opening will be sometime in 2024.